Vehicle fees to take effect Friday

No matter what vehicle you drive in the Cayman Islands, fees for using it will go up starting on Friday.  

General rule: The bigger the vehicle, the more its driver will pay.  

“A bigger car with a bigger seating capacity has more impact on the roads,” said Department of Vehicle and Drivers Licensing Director David Dixon. “We adjusted the fee accordingly.”  

Starting Friday, licensing fees for regular four-seat cars with engines not exceeding 2,500cc will be raised from $160 per year to $180 per year. Sport utility vehicles or others that exceed 2,500cc engine capacity, but which don’t exceed nine seats [including the driver] are now $200 per year to register.  

Hummers have two categories all their own; a H1 grouping which cost $1,000 per year to register and all other types of Hummers that will cost $500 for one year’s licensing.  

Private trucks exceeding two tonnes [4,000 pounds] but not weighing more than 8,500 pounds will be charged an annual licensing fee of $400 per year.  

According to the Ministry of District Administration, there will be no charge for mileage placed on a driver’s yearly registration, as was earlier being considered by government.  

However, there will be an increase in driver’s license fees. Those are now going from $60 to $75 for a three-year license and from $100 to $125 for a five-year license.  

Also, fees for learners permits will increase $10, going from $50 to $60 a permit.  

Electric cars  

All these new fees will apply to street-legal electric-powered vehicles as well, which were made legal for use on local roads for the first time in Cayman by the revised Traffic Law.  

However, drivers beware; not all electric-powered vehicles are fit to be used on all roads.  

The revised Traffic Law creates separate categories for two types of electric vehicles.  

Regular electric vehicles are those that can be used on local roads and which can exceed speeds of 30 miles per hour. Low Speed Electric Vehicles [often referred to a Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles] can only be used in speed zones of 30 miles per hour or less.  

An electric-powered vehicle can be registered and licensed just like a gas-powered vehicle under the new law. In fact, the law makes no distinction between a vehicle with an electric or an internal combustion engine except in the case of Low Speed Electric vehicles.  

Mr. Dixon said the lower-powered electrical vehicles would likely only be available for use in Little Cayman and on sections of West Bay Road where the speed limit is soon expected to be reduced to 30 miles per hour.  

“If those vehicles were to operate within speed zones of 40 or 50 miles per hour, they would be committing the offence of obstructing traffic,” Mr. Dixon said.  

Motor scooters  

A procedural change has also been made in the Traffic Law related to motor scooters, which have been moved to Group 1 class licenses.  

Another significant change to the law deals with Group 1A licenses for motorcycles.  

“Regulation 8 of the Traffic Regulation now requires persons to produce to the examiner proof that they held a full Group 1 licence for a motorcycle of an engine capacity not exceeding 125 cc for a period not exceeding one year prior to their application [for the licence],” Mr. Dixon said.  

“They must also successfully complete a basic rider safety course.  

This is a change from the previous Traffic Law that required a person to have a Group 1 licence for two years before qualifying to upgrade to a Group 1A [motocycles above 125cc].